Perception
by JenRiley16
Summary: Makoto Kagome can sense Ichigo Kurosaki. She always has. And when she is attacked by a Hollow, Ichigo saves her. But she inadvertently absorbs some of his spiritual power in the process, allowing her to see everything he can. Not so much of her own choice, Makoto tries to help Ichigo along the way with his new Shinigami duties, while finding out things about herself, too.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, hello. So this is my first Bleach fanfiction. Well, my first anime/manga fanfiction. I hope this ends up well. Read and review if you like? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach the anime, or the manga, the latter of which belonging to Tite Kubo. Sadly, I only own my OCs. And any changes I make to the series, which may or may not be a lot.**

**###**

The light noise coming from upstairs where her sister was playing soothed Makoto, and she let her eyes close briefly before standing up and going to the kitchen. "Mom, there's no food here," she sighed. Her mother hated shopping, and so very often it slipped her mind, even though she had two minor daughters to take care of. A woman with light brown hair glided into the room and peeked over the younger girl's shoulder into the cupboards.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mako, dear," she said, her voice apologetic. Makoto nodded and told her mother that she would go to the corner store to get food. "Remember, you have school tomorrow, so get bentos for all of us, okay?" her mother called, and Makoto rolled her eyes, but dutifully slipped on a jacket and swept out the front door.

It was late out, and so the streets were dark, with only faint glows coming from the overhead lights and the signs on storefronts. Makoto shivered and took longer strides, eager to get out of the cold. It was a good seven minutes before she arrived at a familiar place. It wasn't the nearby convenience store that she usually went to, but a house. There was a car parked in the driveway, and the lights were mostly out in the house. Makoto squinted at the home, and then she made the connection. She knew the boy that lived there, he was in her class. His name was Ichigo. "But why am I here?" she muttered to herself.

She hadn't been to the Kurosaki household in at least five months, since her father died. Makoto had never been friends with Ichigo, not really. She had played with his two younger sisters, but she and he hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other. And yet somehow, she was always so drawn to him. Tatsuki said it was because she liked him, but Makoto didn't quite think that was it.

A loud crash startled her and she looked up from her feet. She had made no move to go on to the convenience store, and now her curiosity was winning over her good judgment. Something barreled out of the Kurosaki house, but Makoto couldn't see what. It left a massive hole in the side of the structure, and Makoto only just barely resisted holding back a scream. Whirling around, Makoto shrieked when something grabbed her. Looking around frantically, she could see nothing. But she was lifted in the air, wiggling her legs and kicking wildly.

"Help!" she screamed. "Help!" There was a thunderous cackle, and Makoto felt tears sting her eyes. This was going to be her end, and she couldn't even see what was going to kill her.

Then, there was a clash of what sounded like metal, and a grunt. The hold on Makoto slackened until there was nothing touching her, and she screamed when she fell. Strong hands wrapped themselves around her, though, and Makoto squealed, punching whatever was gripping her. She still couldn't see anything. There were no figures, only an empty street, one of the overhead lights flickering.

Her hand touched a flat surface, and there was something that could only be described as a slight shock of electricity. It rushed through her veins and Makoto gasped as the figure holding her was finally visible. It was a boy with orange hair that dwarfed her by a little less than half a foot, his face morphed into a brilliant fighting expression. "Kurosaki..." she mumbled, staring up at the orange-haired boy. It was the oldest Kurosaki; Ichigo. He glanced down at her, and frowned.

"Can you see me?" he asked, and Makoto's eyebrows furrowed. "You can, can't you?! How come you can see me?! I thought..." And he looked over to the opposite side of the street, where a girl maybe their age was lying on her side, covered in blood. Makoto gasped, and her eyes found the thing that had been holding her; it was a monster.

"What...what is that?" she cried, and Ichigo glanced at the monster. He set her on her own two feet and she only wobbled slightly.

"Just...just stay over there, got it, Kagome?" he ordered, and dashed at the monster. Makoto only had time to briefly think about how he remembered her name before he brought out a massive sword, one that was longer than him. "No matter what, stay over there!" Ichigo called, and Makoto felt herself nodding.

After watching Ichigo fight the monster for a few moments, she noticed how determined he looked. Then she glanced over at the girl again, who was slumped on her side. Making a split second decision, Makoto sprinted across the street to her. Ichigo yelled at her, but Makoto ignored him. Crouching next to the girl, Makoto assessed her. "Are you okay? Hey, are you okay?" Prodding the girl, Makoto watched her stir. Then she sat up, rubbing her head.

"You can see me?" she asked, her weary eyes wide. Makoto nodded, wondering why she hadn't been able to see Ichigo in the first place. "Can you see them?" asked the girl, pointing at Ichigo and the monster. Nodding again, Makoto frowned. Why was everyone confused as to why she could see them? "I am fine. Please, go look after that girl."

Makoto swiveled, and her eyes landed on a small girl half laying on her stomach and half on her side, her cheek on the pavement. She looked to be asleep, but tears leaked down her face. There was a gash on her right cheek, blood flowing freely from the wound. Again, Makoto dashed across the street. Ichigo yelled at her once more, and she threw herself at the girl's side. She was only eleven, her own sister's age. Her name was Yuzu. Makoto's sister, Hana, had played with Yuzu and Karin, the other twin, several times in the past.

"Yuzu," Makoto whispered, stroking the girl's light brown hair. It was clipped back with a barrette and her eyes fluttered open. "Yuzu, you'll be all right. You'll be all right." Makoto pulled the girl's small frame into her lap and held her tight, rocking back and forth slowly.

"Where's Ichi?" she asked, her voice slightly ragged. Makoto glanced at the Kurosaki in question, and briefly watched him fight the monster. It looked like it was wearing some sort of mask, and it screeched. Makoto's skin crawled, and she turned back to Yuzu, who was asleep again. The girl across the street was watching Ichigo anxiously, blood still seeping from her cuts.

Makoto glanced down at Yuzu again, and brushed the hair back from her face. She thought how curious it was that she ended up at Kurosaki's house once again. It used to happen so much more when she was a child, that she would find herself at his house. Makoto had never spoken to Ichigo, but one day, she had been walking home from the corner store, and instead got completely turned around and found the Kurosaki household. Makoto had always been drawn to Ichigo. She had never been able to explain it, but she could always pick him out in the crowd, and it wasn't just the abnormal orange hair. It was like she could sense him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, yes, it is I! I think I'll probably be updating every Wednesday and Saturday, at least I hope, from now on. So keep a look out, I guess. If you have any suggestions for anything, I'd love to hear them!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, unfortunately, own any of the Bleach characters. Tite Kubo does. I only own my OCs, and any and all changes I make to the story.**

**###**

Jolting awake, Makoto let out a deep sigh. She had had a strange dream, something about Ichigo Kurosaki, and another girl, and a monster. A horrible, horrifying monster that could have killed her. It seemed so real. She knew that she had passed the Kurosaki house last night, and had forgotten to get the bentos for school, but she couldn't remember getting home. She couldn't remember anything after going to Ichigo's house. Why did she go to his house anyway?

"Mako, wake up, 'kay? School is soon," Hana sang as she pushed open the door to Makoto's bedroom. She was already wearing her school uniform, and her hair was pulled back into pigtails. Makoto nodded and pushed off her bed, brushing the strange thing about Ichigo Kurosaki. It had just been a dream. She hadn't actually seen such a monster like the one he supposedly fought with.

After bathing and dressing, Makoto grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, thumping down the stairs to the kitchen. Her mother was standing in front of the cupboards, frowning. "Aw, you didn't get any bentos," she whined. Makoto rolled her eyes.

"Maybe if you went shopping, we'd have some. I'll go after school or something." The woman pouted, but nodded and moved off. Makoto waved goodbye and left for school.

Oddly enough, she ended up passing the Kurosaki house on the way. There was a massive hole in the side, which was being patched up by Ichigo's dad with wooden planks. Makoto stopped to stare. She remembered the hole from her dream, that something had crashed through it, the monster. But had it been a dream after all? "Oh, you're Kagome, aren't you? Your sister plays with Yuzu and Karin," said the man, and Makoto nodded.

"Yes, I'm Kagome Makoto." She shook hands with the man, and he swung his hammer idly by his side. His dark hair was spiked, and Makoto could see the resemblance between him and Ichigo.

"You're in Ichigo's class, right?" he asked, and she nodded. "Do you want me to get him or something?" Makoto frantically shook her head, cheeks reddening.

"Oh, no, no, I was just passing. You know, going to school. But, uh, what happened?" she inquired, pointing at the hole in the house. Ichigo's father spun around to admire the hole. He nodded absently, looking at her over his shoulder.

"Someone crashed into the house last night with a truck. Lucky none of us were hurt." Makoto nodded, mulling over his words. It certainly was lucky, but it was too much of a coincidence that she had had a dream of a gaping hole in the Kurosaki house, and then here it actually was.

Makoto cleared her throat. "Well, I better be off. Oh, wait, will Ichigo be at school?" she asked, and the man nodded. Without another word, Makoto took off, dashing for Karakura High School.

###

There was a girl sitting in a lone chair, staring up at the ceiling, her brown hair caught behind her back as she leaned up against the wall. A magazine sat in her lap, and Makoto grinned. "Orihime," she sang, hitting the girl lightly with her school bag. Orihime jolted out of her slightly dazed state and smiled softly at Makoto.

"Mako-chan, she said, and in the next second, another girl appeared, this one with short and spiky black hair, a grin plastered on her face. "Tatsuki-chan." Makoto and Tatsuki nodded at each other in silent greeting and they rounded on Orihime, the poor girl.

"Ichigo sure is late," Tatsuki commented, and Makoto smirked. She always teased Orihime about her long-standing crush on the Kurosaki boy, and it could be funny at first, but Makoto often grew tired of the repetitive jabs. "You were thinking about him, weren't you? Ichigo, that is." Orihime blushed and raised the usual protests, but it was so painfully obvious that she liked him.

Tatsuki went on to ask (yet again) why Orihime liked Ichigo, and proceeded to list all his perhaps not-so-good qualities. Makoto tuned out a little bit because, for one, she didn't think Ichigo was all that bad. Not that Tatsuki did either, Makoto knew that she and Ichigo had been in the same karate class when they were younger, but she liked all of his flawed attributes. It was what made him, him. And Makoto was attracted to people that were their real selves, that didn't care what other people that. She admired that in Ichigo, not that she would ever admit it to anybody.

Orihime burst out laughing, and then Kojima strode by, saying that Ichigo might not be at school that day. "Something about a huge truck crashing into the house late last night. That's what his dad told me when I went by," he said, and Makoto nodded.

"Oh, yeah. I went by this morning, too, and he told me the same thing. Strange that no one woke up, though, right?" Makoto inquired, and Komaji nodded, while Tatsuki lunged forward in her seat.

"Crashed into the house?! Is he injured?! Or is he-"

She never got to finish the last sentence, because a schoolbag collided with the bag of her head, and she grunted. "I'm not dead, sorry to disappoint you," Ichigo said, and Orihime greeted the boy enthusiastically, to which he responded to with considerably less excitement.

Makoto sat at the desk adjacent to Ichigo's, and he took his seat behind Komaji, and third period began. "Are you Kurosaki-kun?" asked the girl on his other side. Makoto peered over, and was shocked, much like Ichigo, to see the small, dark-haired female. Blanching, Makoto wondered briefly if this was a dream, too. That girl had been in her dream the previous night, along with the massive hole, and so far, all those things had turned out to be real. Did that mean the monster was real, too?

But Ichigo looked just as stunned to see her, and he had been in the dream as well. Or had they had the same dream, and it just seemed so real to both of them? Makoto couldn't make any sensible conclusions, so she decided to listen in to what they were saying.

Komaji introduced her as Kuchiki Rukia, and that she and her family had transferred to Karakura just recently. "Make I look at your text book?" she said to Ichigo, and held out her palm. Makoto felt herself bend forward to see the writing on the girl's hand, and Ichigo was taken aback. 'Say something and I kill you'. Kuchiki smiled, and then it widened when she laid eyes on Makoto. "My apologies, I did not get your name."

###

"Where are we going?" asked Kuchiki, trailing behind Ichigo. Makoto fell back even farther behind, wondering how she had gotten dragged into all of this. All she had done was go to the vending machine to get a drink...and then she was swept up by Ichigo and Kuchiki. "Leading me to such an empty place, what dost thou intend of me? And you brought along Kagome Makoto as well, hm..."

Ichigo stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Stop talking weird!"

Huffing, Kuchiki proceeded to defend herself. "How rude. I only just learned in one day." Makoto hugged her torso and watched the exchange with mild interest.

"Shut up. Just explain what the hell is going on," Ichigo demanded, and Makoto felt herself drifting forward, closer to the two. She definitely wanted to know what was going on. The dream had felt so real, and all the things were coming true, except for the monster so far, and Makoto no longer felt it was merely her imagination. "Why are you in my class? Didn't you go back to that Soul Society place?" This was where Makoto was lost. She had never anything about any Soul Society place. All she knew was that last night, she saw Ichigo fight a monster, and that Yuzu had been hurt.

"Oh," Makoto said, and Ichigo glanced at her, his eyebrow twitching, "Is Yuzu all right? She was bleeding last night." His expression softened just the slightest at the mention of his sister, and he nodded. "So, wait, that really did all happen? It wasn't just a dream?"

"No, it was no dream," answered Kuchiki, and Ichigo and Makoto both turned to look at the small girl. "What you saw last night was called a Hollow, a malevolent spirit. The real question is how you could see us. No regular human is supposed to be able to see a Soul Reaper, which was what Ichigo was last night. Or a Hollow, for that matter. You certainly do not have as high a spiritual connection as he does, but yet you could clearly see all three of us, yes?"

Makoto nodded. "I couldn't at first, though. And then I touched Ichigo, and you all became visible." At this, Kuchiki seemed curious and slightly alarmed.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ichigo asked, his eyebrows twitching. "So you touched me and you could see us? What does that mean?"

Kuchiki paced back and forth, her hand on her chin. "I am not sure. I have only heard of this once, and it was just a legend, but there is a story of someone who can absorb powers from anything supernatural or spiritual." When Ichigo and Makoto gave her identical confused looks, Kuchiki went on. "Last night, you couldn't see us at first, correct? But when Ichigo caught you, when you laid a hand on his flesh, you could. I believe you absorbed some of his spiritual power."

"But what does that mean exactly? If I touch anyone with spiritual power, I absorb their abilities? Completely?" Kuchiki shook her head.

"No, because I can still sense Ichigo's high spiritual connection, but now also yours. You have taken some of his power, but only a little bit. You were not aware that you were doing it, and you only touched him for a few seconds. Had you been more frightened or disoriented, you had the potential to absorb all of it." Makoto nodded slowly, and Ichigo crossed his arms. "I want you to touch me."

Makoto's head snapped up. "What? But didn't you just say that I could absorb all of your power? You're a Shinigami, right? What happens if I take all of your ability?"

Kuchiki dismissed the notion. "I said only if you were disoriented or scared, that you might take all of it. Also maybe if you were stressed, or high-strung. But it doesn't matter, because that fool over there took almost all of my Shinigami power anyway."

"What? Me?" Ichigo asked, looking down at his clothes for a moment. "But I'm no longer a Shinigami! No kimono, see?"

"It's inside of you," Kuchiki said, pointing. "Your body has not become a Shinigami, so much that your soul has become one. So I can not return to Soul Society. I'm even forced to be in this artificial body."

"Artificial?"

"It is we Shinigami's other body, to be used in emergency situations. A weakened Shinigami enters it to wait for his powers to recover. Weakened Shinigami are targets for Hollows, so we act like a human."

Makoto snapped her fingers. "So that's why everyone could see you!" Kuchiki nodded. "But that's even more of a reason for me not to touch you, if you have little to no Shinigami powers left. Especially if I can't yet control it."

"I must see if I am correct in my assessment of your abilities. Please, touch me." Kuchiki held out her arm and pushed up the sleeve of her uniform. Makoto shook her head and Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Just touch her already," he said, giving her a push in Kuchiki's direction. Makoto stumbled and grabbed onto Kuchiki for support. As soon as her fingers wrapped around Kuchiki's forearm, a sharp barb of pain stabbed Makoto, and she momentarily changed into a black kimono. There was a sword strapped to her back, and it was thin and surprisingly light.

Ichigo looked shocked, and Makoto was taken aback. Kuchiki smiled briefly before frowning, flexing her fingers. And just as quick as Makoto had changed into the kimono, it was gone. "See? You only took a little because you were nervous. You're not a permanent Shinigami, but I have even less power left than I did before."

"I'm sorry," said Makoto, and Kuchiki waved her apology away. "What do we do now?"

"Well, until my powers return, you will take over my Shinigami duties!" Kuchiki exclaimed, gesturing at Ichigo. "You're the one that has the Shinigami powers now. I will assist you, of course. In addition, you have no right to refuse-"

"I refuse!" he yelled, and Makoto's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not fighting those monsters ever again." Striding away, Ichigo stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Yesterday, I was only able to fight because my family was in danger. I ain't fighting monsters like that for total strangers. I'm not that nice of a person!" And there it was, why Makoto liked Ichigo so much. It wasn't so much a crush, like Orihime had, but it was an understanding. She could understand why Ichigo was so protective of his family, and why he would go to any lengths to keep them safe. Maybe it was because his mother had died when he was younger, and her father had only died just five months prior. "Sorry if I disappoint you!"

Slipping on a red glove with a skull on the back of it, Kuchiki stepped forward. "I see. Then I have no choice." She went for Ichigo, hand outstretched.

"Kuchiki, what are you-"

Jabbing her palm under Ichigo's chin, his body fell forward, and a duplicate stumbled backward. "What's this?! My soul has been removed?!" Ichigo's body was collapsed face down on the ground, and Makoto bent down to prod at it. "Hey! Don't touch me there! What are you doing?!"

"Hey! Follow me," said Kuchiki, and then she glanced at Makoto. "Oh, and please call me Rukia."

###

They were at a nearby park. It was vacant, seeing as school was still going. Rukia folded her arms and cocked a hip. "Wait. It will be soon." Makoto and Ichigo rounded on the small girl.

"What will be soon? We've been here for twenty minutes!"

"Does a spirit usually appear around this park?" asked Rukia, quite unconcerned by their questions. Makoto looked to Ichigo, who nodded, ad bent down to a crouch. He held a hand up, just about three feet off the ground.

"Yeah. A five-year-old kid. He usually plays here around twelve." Ichigo stayed in a crouch and rested his arms on his thighs. Makoto frowned. It made sense that Ichigo could talk to spirits. She had seen him on more than one occasion, supposedly talking to himself. But it was ghosts all along. And after she absorbed a minuscule amount of his ability, Makoto could see them now, too.

Rukia nodded. "Your friend?"

"I've only just seen him three or four times. Never even spoken to him. What about it?! And why is she here?!" he asked, gesturing to Makoto. She had protested to going along with them, not particularly wanting to ditch class, and that this was not her fight, or her anything. She should never have been involved. She should never have been to Ichigo's house last night at all.

"I believe she might be able to help me convince you," was all Rukia said, and both Makoto and Ichigo looked mildly confused. As they were about to start firing off more questions, Rukia shoved a cell phone in Ichigo's face.

"What's this?"

"An order from Soul Society. It means, within fifteen minutes of twelve, twenty-meter vicinity of Yumizawa Children's Park, a Hollow will appear. Most likely, that child will be attacked," Rukia explained, and alarm radiated off Ichigo and Makoto.

There was a wild and fearful scream. The three spun around to see a child running frantically away from a wicked huge spider. Tears leaked from the young boy's eyes, and he stumbled over his own feet, just barely catching himself. Ichigo jumped over the railing of the barrier and landed in the grass of the park. "You're going to help him?" asked Rukia calmly. "Isn't he a stranger?"

Makoto started to object, but Rukia held up a hand. "How could I not help someone right in front of me?!" Ichigo demanded.

"It doesn't change the fact that he is being attacked!" From behind, the young boy tripped, and face-planted the ground. He cried out, and Makoto bit her lower lip. Ichigo glanced over his shoulder. "Don't help him! Even if you save that kid here, nothing will change if you don't become a Shinigami! Saving him because he's right in front of you?! Don't be naive. A Shinigami has to treat all spirits equally! You cannot just conveniently save those you can see, those you can reach! Don't save that kid with such half-heartedness! If you want to save him now, accept that you must save all spirits! To go anywhere for them, to even give your life to save them. Make that kind of commitment! And if it helps, Makoto will be there with you along the way." Makoto raised her brows at Rukia, to which the girl held up a hand.

It was seconds before Ichigo moved. He was totally still, and then he leapt into action. Yanking the humongous sword off his back, he lunged at the Hollow that was descending on the child. With a single swipe of the sword, one of the spider's legs was chopped off, and the Hollow let out a rattling noise.

"Ichigo..." started Rukia. "You've accepted?" The Hollow went tumbling with the lose of one of it's eight legs, and the child glanced up tentatively. Ichigo stabbed the sword into the ground and the child shrieked.

"Shut the hell up! I don't accept jack!" Ichigo jabbed a finger back at where Rukia and Makoto stood. Makoto leaned over the railing, her adrenaline peaking. "I saved him because I wanted to save him! Is that wrong?! Are you any different?!" Rukia stopped and stared.

"You sacrificed yourself to save me that time! Were you thinking about complicated stuff like 'this is my Shinigami duty'?! That's not what sacrificing yourself is! At the very least..." Ichigo spun around and thrust the sword into the face of the Hollow, successfully cracking it's mask. The monster went down. "I'm different! I haven't accepted any commitment! If things get bad, I might run away, since I'm not actually a good enough person to sacrifice my life for total strangers. But, unfortunately, I'm also not trash that can live happily without paying back his debts!"

Tipping the sword backward and letting it lean on his shoulder, Ichigo held out a hand to Rukia. It was strong, and his fingers were slender. "I'm going to help you do this Shinigami job thing, even if I don't want to!"  
Rukia smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

"And what does she have to do with anything?" Ichigo gestured to Makoto. "I don't even know her! Why would it help if she was there?!" Rukia said nothing, but Makoto couldn't help but grin. One of Ichigo's most attractive qualities was his anger, his passion.

"So that's a big sword you have there," she commented lightly.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of come-on?!"

Smiling faintly, Rukia bobbed her head. "It's called a Zanpakutō."

"I see. Well, it's big."

"Really?! This is supposed to help me?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, hello! I have returned with another chapter as promised! Every Wednesday and Saturday. So, yes... If you have any suggestions or whatever, just message me. Also, please review! You review, I write, equivalent exchange! Thank you and happy reading!**

** ###**

Orihime's song was getting dull, but Makoto never said a word about it, because she knew that the girl liked it. And even sometimes, Orihime could get Makoto to join in. She was about to, too, but then Orihime saw Ichigo down at the park benches to their left. "Hey! It's Kurosaki-kun!" Makoto glanced over and sure enough, Ichigo was sitting on one of the wooden benches with Rukia. "Should we go say hello?" she asked nervously.

Sighing, Makoto shrugged. "I don't know, Orihime. We just got groceries. Don't you think we should take them back to your place?" Orihime chanced another glance back down at Ichigo, and a sigh of longing left her lips. "Okay, fine, let's go say hi. But real quick, because Tatsuki is coming over, remember?" Holding up a finger to her lips, Orihime made her way silently down the hill. Makoto rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, following in the footsteps of her friend. She hadn't wanted Orihime to go down almost solely because she knew what Ichigo and Rukia were doing. They had even invited her to come along for Ichigo's training, Ichigo begrudgingly, but Makoto had denied, knowing that Orihime wanted to have a sleep over with both her and Tatsuki.

Coming up behind Ichigo, Orihime cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hello, Kurosaki-kun!" she shouted, and Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin. Rukia looked bewildered as well, seeming to have not have spotted Orihime or Makoto as they stumbled down the hill.

"I-Inoue, eh?! And Makoto?! What are you doing here?! Ichigo asked, taking a few steps backward.

Orihime laughed and held up an onion stalk. "Just doing a little dinner shopping. I bought onions and butter and bananas and gelatin." The look on Ichigo's face was priceless, but he looked like he wanted to ask Orihime what she intended on making with those ingredients, and even Makoto didn't want to know what her friend had in mind, so she shook her just the slightest. Ichigo caught the movement, but refused to otherwise acknowledge Makoto. He was upset that Rukia insisted she come along whenever he went out training. This was the second time he had gone, and Ichigo seemed plenty relieved that Makoto had not come with.

"What are you doing here, Kurosaki-kun?" asked Orihime, holding her shopping bag behind her back. Ichigo stuttered for a few painful moments, struggling to gather a viable excuse. Makoto was about to jump in with what he and Rukia where doing there, when Orihime noticed the smaller girl. She peered around Ichigo and gaped. "Kuchiki-san?!"

Rukia was taken aback that Orihime seemed to know her. "Who the hell are you?" Makoto's eyes widened and Ichigo bit back at Rukia. "Oh, Inoue-san," she said, picking up her skirt in a polite gesture. "Honored to make your acquaintance."

Orihime responded just as politely, lifting her skirt and smiling at Rukia. "Eh...yes, honored to make your..." She didn't finish, and Makoto looked at her quizzically. Ichigo also glanced over, and his eyes slid to her arm.

"What's wrong with your arm? You fall down?" he asked, and Orihime brightened.

"Oh, this? No, I was hit!"

Makoto pounced on her friend. "Hit?! You were hit?! By a car?!" Ichigo seemed to be shouting similar things, and Orihime laughed nervously.

"Yeah. Last night I went out shopping to get something to drink and _bam_! I've been getting hit a lot lately." And then she chuckled, smoothing her hair down. Makoto blinked.

"You got hit by a car and you didn't tell me?!"

Ichigo raised similar complaints. "You shouldn't be laughing! That's a serious accident! You should be angrier!" But being the gentle Orihime that she was, she just said something about it not being the car's fault that they hit her.

"You get hurt a often, Inoue-san?" piped Rukia. Makoto glanced at her curiously, eyebrows raised. Rukia would not be chiming in had she not had an idea, or noticed something suspicious.

"More than often!" exclaimed Orihime. "Almost everyday! I zone out a lot, so..." Rukia folded her arms, seemingly done with her interrogation, while Ichigo yelled something at Orihime. When Rukia bent down to examined Orihime's leg, though, Makoto knew she had spotted something. "I got this last night, too, so I think it must have been when I was hit by the car..."

There was an angry red scrape on Orihime's calf, and Makoto crouched next to Rukia to look at it. "What do you think it is, Rukia?" Makoto asked in a hushed whisper.

"I am not sure," she whispered back. "I have an idea, but I need more information, which I can't ask while your friend is still here." Makoto nodded in understanding and stood, while Orihime asked Rukia something about her scary face. Ichigo had a brief exchange with Orihime, to which she blushed furiously, and Makoto, being the trusty friend, swooped in.

"Orihime," she said, tugging on the girl's forearm. "Don't you think we should get going. Tatsuki's coming over soon, and Laugh Hour is almost on." Orihime checked her watch and gasped.

"You're right, Mako-chan! We better go!" the girl exclaimed, and rushed for the wooden stairs back up the hill.

"You'll tell me if you find out anything, yeah?" asked Makoto, sidling up to Rukia. The smaller girl nodded, watching Ichigo shout something after Orihime. "I'm going with Orihime for the night, so good luck." As she made to follow her friend up the wooden staircase, Rukia pulled her back.

"Be careful, Makoto. You also might want to invest in a pair of gloves until you can control your power." Frowning, Makoto nodded. "Keep an eye out tonight, all right?" Nodding again, Makoto said goodbye to Rukia, and then to Ichigo, to which the orange-haired boy clucked his tongue and said nothing. Makoto smiled and rolled her eyes, dashing after Orihime.

She was waiting at the top of the steps, her cheeks burning. "He asked if I wanted him to walk me home," Orihime said conversationally. Makoto's brows rose and she glanced back at Rukia and Ichigo, the latter of which rubbing his head.

"And you refused?"

"Well, he surprised me. But he didn't have to give up so easily..." she mumbled, and Makoto bobbed her head. "What do you think he was going with Kuchiki-san?" Orihime questioned, and Makoto smiled.

###

"Are you stupid?!" was the first thing Tatsuki said after Orihime relayed to her what happened earlier. Since then, night had fallen, and the three had already eaten all the gelatin Orihime had bought. Orihime protested indignantly and Makoto snickered into her drink. "Yes you are! To waste a chance like that..."

"You think so?" asked Orihime tentatively.

Both Tatsuki and Makoto nodded. "At times like that, you just go for it!" said Makoto, slamming down her cup. Orihime jumped, and a light blush formed on Tatsuki's cheeks.

"When he says 'should I walk you home?' of course you agree! Then you use the pain in your leg as an excuse to lean on him. Then when he's walked you to a place where nobody is around, pull him into a dark place and...take him down!" A crazed look graced Tatsuki's featured, and Makoto roared with laughter while Orihime spit out her drink, her face a maroon color.

"Tatsuki-chan..." Orihime spluttered, and Tatsuki winked.

"Don't worry! For you, just grab your breast and he'll be the aggressive one. Then it's all his fault," Tatsuki explained. "But for him to be so friendly with the transfer student who just arrived... I didn't know Ichigo was that good."

As Orihime jumped in with a protest, Makoto cleared her throat. "I think he was just showing her around, you know, because she told me that she didn't even know where any convenience stores are." Makoto winced when she finished her explanation, because she knew it sounded nothing like the Kurosaki in question. Luckily, though, neither Tatsuki nor Orihime said anything if they noticed.

"Wait, you're friends with the transfer student? Kuchiki, right?" asked Tatsuki, her brow raised. Makoto nodded. "Have _you_ ever been to a park with only Ichigo, Mako?"

Unable to help herself, Makoto felt the blood rush to her face. "No, but I've been to his house." Clearly, this had been the wrong thing to say. Both Tatsuki and Orihime jumped on Makoto.

"You've been to his house?! When?! Why?!" Tatsuki demanded, and Orihime asked similar things. Before Makoto could even choke out a response, there was a slight ruckus behind them, and Orihime whirled around just in time to see her favorite stuffed bear fall to the floor. Rushing over, Orihime picked it up.

"Oh! Enraku fell down! Are you all right, Enraku?!" The girl cradled the bear in her arms, and Tatsuki and Makoto went over to stand beside her. There was a clean tear in the bear's head, and Orihime whimpered. "Aw, why is he ripped?!"

"Maybe the fabric just wore out?" suggested Tatsuki, planting her hands on her thighs. Makoto narrowed her eyes at the bear as Orihime's hand came away with crimson on the palm. Then, there was a feeling of a pinprick just above her elbow. She had often had that feeling when she was in school, or at a crowded place, even at home. Makoto could never explain it, but she always knew where Ichigo was. If he was at his house, or at the corner store, or the arcade. She just knew. But then where was Ichigo now? Coming to Orihime's.

Just as Makoto was about to say something, a massive clawed hand erupted from the stuffed bear's face, going right through Orihime's chest. Makoto screamed, and Orihime fell backward, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Hey! What's wrong, Orihime?!" Tatsuki shouted.

The Hollow appeared, and Makoto yanked Tatsuki out of the way as it swiped a hand at them. "What's going on, Mako?! What happened to Orihime?!" Makoto slid over to where Orihime lay on her side, and gasped when she realized that there was another Orihime plastered against the far wall, connected by a chain to the unconscious Orihime.

"Orihime!" she cried, and spun around as Tatsuki yelped. The Hollow had cut into her shoulder, and she was on her back, clutching the bloody wound. It was clear that she could not see the monster. Orihime stood on wobbly feet and brushed past Makoto to throw herself into one of the Hollow's arms. It accomplished nothing, but Orihime skidded to Tatsuki's side. Makoto came next, and bent down over the gasping Tatsuki. Orihime called their friend's name, but the short-haired girl made no inclination that she could hear her.

"Mako..." choked out Tatsuki, not making eye contact with her. Tears sprung to Tatsuki's eyes, and Makoto stammered that she was there.

"Why can't she hear me?!" asked Orihime frantically, and the Hollow behind them started speaking.

"It is useless, Orihime. She can neither hear nor see us. Though it seems your other friend can," it said, and Makoto blanched. Orihime was taken aback, and glanced at Makoto, but she didn't hear what Orihime said in return. "You even forgot my voice? How sad, Orihime!" the monster roared, and Orihime closed her eyes tightly. The Hollow reached out to Orihime, and Makoto braced herself against Tatsuki, who was had fainted.

Then there was the pinprick again, and Makoto looked up to see Ichigo in his kimono, his Zanpakutō unsheathed and held out along the Hollow's hand. "Kurosaki-kun...?" asked Orihime, completely shocked. Makoto breathed a smile and held Tatsuki closer to her body.

"You interfere?" said the Hollow, mildly surprised.

Ichigo bared a half-smirk. "That's my job. If you want to kill Inoue, you better kill me first!" The Hollow didn't attack for a few moments, and in those, Ichigo looked confused. He glanced back at Orihime, and she smiled, saying something about how she thought it was him. But it didn't make sense. How could Orihime see him and the Hollow? Ichigo seemed to be similarly befuddled.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked the Hollow, letting out a noise that was probably supposed to be a chuckle. "It's because that's her soul!" Ichigo's eyes widened and his expression became more intense. Makoto gasped. It suddenly all made so much sense, why Orihime could see Ichigo as a Shinigami in addition to the Hollow. "Too bad for you. Orihime is already dead!" The Hollow lashed out it's tail at Ichigo, and the latter held up his Zanpakutō, but grunted when he realized that the Hollow was compromised of scales.

The window of Orihime's apartment blasted out, sending dust and debris everywhere. Ichigo swore and the Hollow proceeded to pity him, to degrade his speed. There was a gash on his forehead, and blood was smeared across his face. He swore again and dropped the Zanpakutō, holding his bloody hand.

Ichigo was swept out of the hole in the wall by the Hollow's tail, and Makoto called after him, but he was so far unmoving as he landed on the unforgiving ground below. "Kurosaki-kun!" yelled Orihime, making to go see if he was okay, but the Hollow held her back. Makoto could hear Rukia shouting his name as well, though she figured Orihime couldn't make that out.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Orihime started gnawing on the Hollow's fingers that were now wrapped around her curvy body. The Hollow said something, and it sounded sort of sad, but Makoto wasn't paying attention. All she knew was that her friend was in danger of having her soul eaten.

"Let Orihime go!" she screeched, beating on the Hollow's arm. It spared her a glance, and then looked back to Orihime. Without thinking, she laid her right palm on the Hollow's scales, and there was something akin to a zap that went through her body. Makoto jerked away, and stumbled backward, holding her hand. There were flashes of memories, the death of Sora, Orihime's older brother; he was hit by a car. And then more; the funeral; Orihime crying to a stuffed teddy bear; and then getting hit by a car the previous night.

Makoto shook her head, but all she could see were dizzying images and so much sadness, so much anger. With one swipe of the Hollow's tail, Makoto was sent flying out of the window like Ichigo had been, Orihime crying after him. Makoto smacked into the ground with a resounding crack, and she groaned. It turned out that she hadn't fallen too far from Ichigo, and he was already sitting up, his face still bleeding.

"If you lose," Rukia was saying, "He will eat Inoue's soul!" Ichigo's eyes were wide, and Makoto groaned again as she shifted from her back to her side. "Makoto! Are you all right?"

"I touched it," Makoto whimpered, holding her hand close to her body. "I touched the Hollow. It's...it's her brother. It's Orihime's older brother." Rukia nodded and Ichigo looked over concernedly at her as he stood.

"Does that mean she absorbed some of it's powers? Will she be all right?"

Rukia nodded. "It doesn't seem as if she had contact for too long, all the Hollow hasn't murdered anyone yet, so what she absorbed shouldn't be too bad. What do you feel, Makoto?" Smacking her lips, Makoto groaned again.

"It hurts to breathe. I think I cracked a rib. There are memories, of Sora, and of his anger that Orihime left him behind. I feel okay, though," she said, pushing up onto her elbows. Rukia helped her, and Makoto looked straight at Ichigo. "Both of my best friends are up there, Ichigo. Save them, please." He nodded once, and then leapt up back into the apartment room.

"Are you really all right, Makoto?" asked Rukia. Makoto nodded, struggling only a bit to sit up. She could hear Orihime's screams, and of Ichigo's Zanpakutō against the Hollow's scales. The sound of Ichigo yelling at Orihime's brother, Sora, was beautiful. He was shouting about family, about protecting them as the older sibling. It went farther down in Ichigo's core than strangers knew. He felt such a strong need to keep his family safe, his little sisters safe. It was that that made him one of the better people Makoto had met, that she truly admired. "Well, I have to go up there and..."

"Go," Makoto urged, pushing Rukia. "I'll be fine. Just make sure Orihime and Tatsuki are okay." Rukia nodded and scaled the pipe leading up to the massive hole in Orihime's apartment. Makoto could hear the entire exchange from below, and a tear leaked from her eye when she listened to Orihime's goodbyes. She had told Makoto about what happened the day her brother died, that she had been angry at him and hadn't spoken to him. It broke Makoto's heart that Orihime thought Sora had died while thinking she hated him.

###

The look on Orihime's face was priceless as she told the story of how a sumo wrestler had come into her room the previous night and shot a bazooka at the wall. Rukia had informed Makoto that she used something called a Memory Chikan to modify Tatsuki and Orihime's memories. She said that the only downside was that what the device changed it to was totally random.

The other girls in class stared at Orihime in disbelief and Orihime grabbed Tatsuki for support. Makoto watched with Rukia and Ichigo from across the classroom. "You used that on my family, didn't you?" asked Ichigo. Rukia nodded.

"Why didn't you use it on me, then?" Makoto inquired, glancing at Rukia.

"Because you could see us, and you were not a spirit." Nodding, Makoto couldn't help but feel unsettled as she flexed her right hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I went AWOL! I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this story anymore. I'm so lame. I've just been having a hard time with continuation lately. But I'm on spring break now, and I'm painfully bored, so I thought I'd give it a go again. **

###

They were on the rooftop, eating lunch. Makoto had made a lame excuse to Tatsuki and Orihime why she couldn't join them just before meeting Ichigo and Rukia, the latter of which having requested her presence. Touching his forehead, Ichigo breathed an expletive. "Those wounds sure healed up fast." Makoto nodded, feeling her left rib cage. One of them had indeed cracked, but Rukia had fixed it up in no time.

"You're still surprised? What did you expect? My Demon Arts grades were top of the class. Healing wounds like that is nothing," said Rukia, and Makoto frowned, watching the girl struggle with her juice box.

"There's a Shinigami school?" asked Ichigo and Makoto in unison. Rukia shrugged.

"Something like that. Anyway, Makoto, Ichigo...how do I open this?" she asked, shoving the juice box in their faces. Ichigo was surprised that she couldn't figure it out and delivered an explanation while Makoto laughed. Rukia shot her a look and peeled the plastic straw off the side of the box.

Makoto pointed at the foiled square where the straw went, and Rukia aimed the bit of plastic, but missed. "What's this?!" called a voice, and Ichigo and Makoto looked up to see Kojima holding his lunch and staring t them in obvious shock. "You guys are together again. You three sure get along well."

"Mizuiro," said Ichigo in acknowledgement. Kojima sat down on Ichigo's other side, while Makoto peered over from Rukia's left. "Dumbass. Does this look like we get along well?"

"You don't?" Kojima asked in disbelief, eyeing Rukia and Makoto. "Well, if you say so. But Ichigo, shouldn't you think about the impression you're giving to those around you?" Makoto could feel her face heat up as she thought about what Kojima was meaning, but Rukia was completely oblivious, still focusing on trying to open her juice box.

"Stupid," Ichigo dismissed, bringing his juice box to his lips. "If I worried about what others thought, I'd have dyed my hair black long ago." That was true. Everyone always ragged on Ichigo about having orange hair, even though it was natural.

Having finally noticed Rukia, Kojima leaned over to peer at her. "Kuchiki-san! Hello!"

Rukia stammered, and so Makoto whispered his name into her ear. "Hello, um...Kojima-kun," she said tentatively, glancing back at Makoto, who shot her a thumbs-up.

"You remembered, even though we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Kojima Mizuiro, age fifteen! My hobby is-"

"Womanizing," said Ichigo plainly, sipping from his juice box. Makoto snorted into her own, and Kojima made an indignant face, protesting wildly. "With this face, yet he's all over them. Watch out." Makoto's snort turned into a full-out snicker, and Kojima explained that he was only interested in older girls. "That's why I told her to watch out."

Kojima seemed confused, and Rukia was wide-eyed. But that's when Asano arrived, asking if he could join them for lunch. One of the things about hanging around Ichigo, was that eventually, you became acquainted with all the people he usually hung out with, even if you had known them for years, like Makoto.

"Huh? Chad's not here?" asked Asano, and both Kojima and Ichigo denied seeing him. "That's weird. Where'd he go?" There was a beat of silence in which Asano's eyes swung to the side, where he saw Rukia finally sipping from her juice box, and Makoto finishing the bento she had bought the previous night. "Oh! If it isn't the lovely transfer student, Kuchiki-san! And the beautiful Kagome Makoto! Why are you two here?!"

Makoto sighed. Asano had had a little bit of a crush on her in the past, and he confessed to her when they were in grade seven, which had been more than slightly awkward. Makoto liked him and all, she just...wasn't interested. "Ichigo asked them both out," supplied Kojima, which Ichigo aptly denied, and Makoto started spluttering.

"What?! Ichigo?! Good job!" he said to Ichigo, like a proud father to his son. "I'm Asano! Welcome to this place of men!" Rukia stammered a greeting, and Makoto smiled. "Now! Today's a lunch party!" Ichigo put him down, and Asano responded with gusto. As he was about to sit down in front of the four of them, he received a kick in the back by a boy with a bleached Afro. "Ow! What are you...?" He saw the guys that were behind him, two thugs, and he stopped.

"Yo, Kurosaki," said the one that had kicked Asano. Makoto gulped and Rukia watched curiously.

"Ooshima," Asano said. "They lifted your suspension."

"Shut up," ordered Ooshima. "I'm not talking to you. Hey, Kurosaki, when are you gonna dye your hair? With that bleached hair and drooping eyes, you're copying me." Ooshima shoved Asano out of the way and Kojima quickly moved to sit on Makoto's other side, out of the line of fire.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ichigo asked, looking irritated, his grimace deepening. "This is my natural color. And I ain't copying you. Do something about your own hair, you chicken-head. Lay any eggs lately?" Makoto couldn't help bursting out with a laugh, although the look she got from Ooshima was enough to silence her.

Ooshima seemed aghast at the jab, and Asano jumped in to try and stop the upcoming fight. "Hey, hey, hey! Let's not fight, okay?"

"Get lost, Asano! I'm gonna kick that idiot's ass!"

This time, Makoto stood alongside Asano, really not wanting to see Ichigo and Ooshima fight, even though she knew Ichigo could easily beat the thug. "Come on, let us go!" she said.

"We all know how strong you are," Asano chimed, and Makoto grinned. It was always best to stroke the enemy's ego, and Makoto was slightly surprised Asano knew that. "We can't beat you, Ooshima!" But, of course, being Ichigo, he wasn't about to take that lying down.

"Don't be stupid," the orange-haired boy said, standing. "I'm one thousand times stronger than that baby chicken." While Ooshima shouted something at him, Asano cried out that he was trying to stop him, and for Ichigo to shut up. Makoto shot the Kurosaki boy a look, to which he only raised his brows. Sighing, Makoto waved it on. She should have known there would be no way to stop the fight.

"As I thought... I knew one day I'd have to settle things with you for good. This is perfect. Right here, right now," Ooshima grunted, revealing a set of brass knuckles. "I'm gonna kick yur arse!"

Makoto barked a laugh, while Kojima and Ichigo sweatdropped. As Ooshima went in for a punch, someone came up behind him, and then, Ooshima was flying through the air. He crashed on the other side of the roof, his thug friend going after him, calling his name.

A tall boy, that could probably be mistaken for a man, with darker skin stood in Ooshima's place, a bandaged hand help up in greeting. "Chad!" greeted Asano. "Be more careful, you could've killed Ooshima. You did save us, though." As Chad began to dig into his lunch, Ichigo's eyes widened.

"You're...injured? What happened?" Makoto glanced up from her bento, where a few bits of rice clung to the packaging, to see the bandages on Chad's face as well, almost totally hidden by his thick, curly hair.

"My head...from yesterday," said Chad. "Steel beam fell from above." Everyone was stunned, aside from Rukia, who was still going at it with her juice box. "My hand and stuff is from when I went to buy bread. I collided with a motorcycle."

"What the hell are you doing?!" barked Ichigo, and Makoto almost laughed.

"And the guy on the bike was seriously injured, so...I took him to the hospital." Makoto smiled faintly and didn't hear the comments Ichigo and Asano said. Chad started to sit down, setting down a bird cage he had been carrying by the leather strap tied to the top. Inside the cage perched a little yellow parakeet.

"What's with the bird?" asked Asano, and Makoto peered curiously at the bird.

"Hello!" chirped the parakeet, and Ichigo was taken aback. Makoto's eyebrows furrowed. "My name is Shibata Yuuichi! What are your names?" While Asano commended the bird for speaking so well, and introducing himself, Ichigo asked Chad where he got the parakeet.

Holding up a finger, Chad drew in a breath. "Yesterday..." He trailed off, and Makoto cocked a brow. "...I got it." Asano jumped at that, and accused Chad of stopping the explanation because it was too much work, which Chad aptly denied. Makoto cleared her throat, and Ichigo glanced down at her, his eyes sliding to Rukia when she told him not to worry.

"Something is inside of him, but it's nothing evil. It's nothing more than a lonely spirit. Though it could become a Hollow if left alone. It would be wise to send it to the afterlife tonight." Ichigo nodded, slumping back against the wall, draining the last of his juice box.

"There goes more of my sleeping time." Rukia said something back to him, and Makoto fiddled with her fingers. She had gotten a pair of gloves this morning before school, after what happened with the Hollow at Orihime's the other night. After touching it, she had had such horrible nightmares of all the anguish and suffering of Orihime's brother. She had woken up crying, and hadn't been able to tell Hana why.

"Maybe you should come with us, Makoto." Both Ichigo and Makoto were surprised.

"Me? Why me?"

"Her?! Why her?!"

Rukia smoothed out her skirt. "If she is to help you with your Shinigami duties, don't you think she should know what it is you're doing?"

Ichigo appeared affronted at the mention of needing assistance. "Who says I need help from her?! Isn't that why you're here?!" Rukia shook her head.

"One day, you might just need her." Ichigo scoffed as Makoto flushed.

###

"Brother!" called Yuzu. "Move out of the way!" She was in her nurse's outfit, and carrying boxes of medical supplies. Yuzu brushed past Ichigo and he was bewildered as he flattened himself against the wall to avoid the gurney Karin was pushing at top speed. When he questioned what was going on, Yuzu said that there had been a car crash at the intersection. Ichigo glanced at Makoto, and then rolled his eyes. She had insisted on coming home with him and Rukia, the latter of which tucking herself up into Ichigo's closet, where she slept, since she didn't have a home of her own.

Ichigo's father, whom Makoto had met the day after she had been attacked by a Hollow, was having a serious altercation with someone over the phone. "Tell your manager that this is a request from Kurosaki! Then tons of beds will open up! You got that?!" After slamming the phone down, he yelled an expletive.

"Anything we can help with?" asked Ichigo tentatively, offering up Makoto's assistance without her permission, though she didn't mind in this situation.

"No!" roared the man. "Stay in the corner so you are out of the way! Hello, Kagome Makoto!" He ran off, and Ichigo and Makoto indeed went to go sit against a wall in an unused hallway, totally helpless.

"Do you usually help out in your family's hospital?" she asked. Ichigo nodded, and so she Makoto. "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys at lunch. Your friends are cool. I've been in the same class with all of you for ages, but I've only actually been acquainted with a handful of you."

"It's fine. But you knew me. You didn't even start with Kurosaki." Makoto nodded. She wanted to tell him that the was because she had known about him for ages, since she knew who Ichigo Kurosaki was, really. And even before then, there was just a niggling sense of trying to find something that she didn't know she was missing.

"Well my sister Hana plays over at your house sometimes, with Yuzu and Karin. She calls you Kurosaki, but I..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say. How did you tell someone that you knew who they were before you even met them? Ichigo nodded, and both of them snapped to attention when Ichigo's father called.

"Ichigo! A job for you! Kagome Makoto can help, too! Help carry him!"

As Ichigo and Makoto jumped to action, and Makoto was saying that they could just call her Makoto, they noticed that it was Chad that needed to be carried. "Chad?!" Said boy mumbled an acknowledgment and Ichigo and Makoto dashed to his side.

They helped, along with Ichigo's father, to a free hospital bed in a lone room. Chad's back was ravaged, and blood dripped from the wounds. Yuzu cried in despair over the gashes, when Ichigo's grimaced deepened.

"What?" asked Makoto. "Do you feel something?" She may have absorbed his ability to see spirits and what not, but she could not at all sense the supernatural. Ichigo nodded as his father moved to examine Chad.

"This is terrible," he said. "Looks like a burn. Plus, it's bleeding all over. You'll have to remain..." Chad rose from the hospital bed, claiming that he was fine. Ichigo's father protested, and Makoto chewed on her lower lip when Chad fell right over. "See! Someone help me!"

###

Ichigo's bedroom was kind of nice, for a boy's room. It was simple, and Makoto respected that. Rukia sat on the bed, still in her uniform. They all were still in their school uniforms. "You sense that?" Ichigo asked, and Rukia folded her arms tightly.

"I even felt it from this room. I didn't sense anything from the parakeet, but...his wounds smells of a Hollow," she said, and Makoto's eyes widened.

"A Hollow?! Why is a Hollow following him?!" she cried, and Rukia shrugged.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I cannot believe all the people that are following this story and all the favorites... Thank you so much. I want to apologize in advance, because I suck at updating this particular story, and I've sort of lost my muse. But because of all you folks, I'm trying! **

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I only own Makoto and her family. If I owned Bleach, I'm sure I would be much busier with _still updating it. _Sigh. **

**###**

Rukia had spent the night at Makoto's house. After an invitation to escape Ichigo's closet, at least for one night, the girl had gratefully accepted. Hana had taken quite a liking to Rukia, and the recovering Shinigami seem to enjoy Makoto's sister as well. Arriving at school, both of them looked around anxiously for Ichigo. Class was about to start, and he still wasn't there. Neither was Chad.

As Rukia and Makoto exchanged another tense look, the door to the classroom slid open with a bang. Ichigo stood at the threshold, just before going to Kojima's desk, and gripping his shoulder tightly. "Where's Chad?! Did Chad come?!" Frowning, both Rukia and Makoto glanced at Chad's still-empty desk.

Kojima and Asano both struggled to come up with a reason why Chad wasn't there, and Makoto knew something was up. Chad was supposed to be in his hospital bed. Ichigo knew that. So why would he be asking about Chad's whereabouts unless... "Where the heck are you going?! The bell's already rung!" Ichigo flung himself out the door, past the sensei, dashing down the hall.

Without a word, Rukia and Makoto jumped to their feet, grabbing their bags and chasing after Ichigo. "Sorry, Sensei!"

###

They split up, which seemed to be the best way to try and find Chad faster. When the three of them met up again, Rukia denied having found any trace of the boy. "Me neither," said Makoto, panting. She had never run so much in her life.

"Zero information from Soul Society. Nothing on the radar either," Rukia explained. "In the first place, Hollows hide between the dimensions of this world and Soul Society when they are not doing something evil. So we will only be able to sense it when it enters here to attack Chad! That's why we Shinigami must wait for orders from Soul Society before we act." Makoto nodded, and Ichigo scrubbed a hand across his face.

"Damn! Chad is being targeted by a Hollow... It'll be too late if we act only after he's been attacked! I've gotta do something!" After a second, Ichigo removed the hand from his face. "That's it! The parakeet that Chad was carrying! Can't I trace the aura of the spirit within it?!"

"What?!" asked Rukia, shell-shocked. Makoto gaped as Ichigo spread his legs and closed his eyes. "No. That's not possible... Ichigo?"

Tugging anxiously on Rukia's sleeve, Makoto watched what looked like bandages, spreading around the three of them. "Is he doing it?" Makoto asked, and Rukia nodded in amazement. Snatching one of the bandages out of the air, Ichigo grinned.

"Found him! This way!" Ichigo swiveled, and Rukia rushed to follow him, Makoto at her side.

"That was Reiraku...the ability to visualize the spirit's aura," explained Rukia, and Makoto nodded, glancing at Ichigo's back ahead of them. "Only high-level Shinigami should be able to do that. This guy has been able to develop his abilities this quickly?!"

It was silence after that, except for the occasional pants of breath from Makoto. "There he is!" Ichigo shouted, and Makoto snapped to attention. It was indeed the dark-skinned boy. "It's Chad!" As soon as he spotted them, though, he ran the opposite way. "Idiot! Why are you running away?! It's dangerous by yourself!" There was a beat where a ragged voice called Ichigo's name, and the three whirled around.

Karin, Ichigo's younger sister, was leaning against a telephone pole, her entire body in a cold sweat. Dark circles under her eyes were pronounced against her pale skin. "Karin! What happened to you?! You can barely stand..." Then the girl stumbled, and Ichigo shouted her name.

"You should take her home!" said Rukia, and both Makoto and Ichigo glanced at the girl. "Makoto and I will follow him!" As Ichigo started to protest, bending down to his barely-conscious sister, Rukia snapped. "Don't complain! It's a problem for us if she were left here. Since that would distract your mind from the fight!" Sensing Ichigo's hesitation, Makoto crouched next to him, brushing Karin's hair from her face.

"Go," she urged, locking eyes with Ichigo. "She's your sister. You must be worried. I can't imagine how I'd feel if it was my sister like this."

"If you understand, then just go! Got it?!" Rukia shouted, and Makoto nodded at Ichigo. He picked up Karin, one arm wrapped around her back, and the other slithering under the backs of her knees.

"Rukia..." he said. "Your power to fight Hollows has still not returned, has it? So don't push yourself too hard!" And just as they were about to split up again, Ichigo snatched Makoto's forearm. "Good luck, Makoto. And keep your gloves on." Makoto felt the fire on her skin where Ichigo touched her, and almost missed the feeling when he pulled away.

"See ya!" shouted Rukia, and they all took off, Ichigo carrying Karin, and Makoto with Rukia. It was only a few minutes before they found Chad again. "There he is!" More running, and Makoto's energy was nearly spent. Rukia had starting panting beside her, and Makoto was about to say something when a ragged voice sounded behind them.

"You two smell nice." The voice was guttural, and both Rukia and Makoto froze. Chancing a glance over her shoulder, Makoto saw a Hollow, with wings. "You've got very tasty scents. Let me eat those souls of yours!" Rukia's eyes widened and Makoto gasped.

As Rukia was thrown to the ground by the Hollow, she picked herself up with ease, giving Makoto a sharp look. "Makoto! Go after Chad!" Protesting, Rukia held up a hand and went in for a kick to the Hollow. "Go! Your combat skills are weak as of now! You can do nothing to help but find Chad!" That was a stab to the heart, but Makoto nodded before sprinting the way Chad had gone.

Panting heavily, Makoto used a wall overgrown with weeds as a support. Determined to keep going, to be of _some_ use, Makoto stumbled around the corner and came upon Chad, the bird cage in one hand. "I found you..." she said, and Chad spun around at the clang of something. Makoto swore under her breath. It was Rukia, and she might have been getting pummeled, all because Makoto couldn't fight.

"You... Kagome Makoto..." Chad said, and Makoto nodded, clutching the stitch in her side. "What was that noise?"

"Someone is being attacked," explained the bird while Makoto struggled to retrieve a breath. "The other lady who was chasing us is being attacked...by the guy who's attacking us." When Chad said that he was going to go and help, both the parakeet and Makoto rushed to stop him.

"Can you see ghosts?!" asked Makoto while Chad set the bird's cage up on the barrier. He paid no heed, though, and ran back to where Rukia and the Hollow were, leaving Makoto to watch the bird.

"So...what's your name?"

###

The strangest looking creature popped around the corner of the barrier Makoto had gone around not but fifteen minutes ago. She was sitting against the wall, the cage sitting next to her. The bird had insisted that she pull it down, and Makoto didn't know what else to do but comply. "What is that?" she asked curiously. The parakeet squawked when it caught sight of the creature, and Makoto realized too late that it had malevolent intentions.

Squeezing its head, a stream of liquid and other things came out, drenching Makoto. She moaned at the pain that erupted on her arms and legs, anywhere that was exposed. Little creatures clung to her skin, and Makoto gasped. "These're leeches! Ugh! Why leeches?!" Then there was a horrible, ear-splitting whistle, and one of the leeches exploded. Makoto collapsed next to the bird cage, and felt the blood leaking from a wound on her shoulder.

"Miss?! Miss?!" cried the bird, and Makoto glanced at it, and the creature taking hold of the leather strap tied to the top of the cage. More of the same species arrived, and they seemed to smirk at Makoto as her eyes closed. "Miss?!"

It was maybe ten minutes, or an hour, Makoto couldn't really tell, before anyone found her. Surprisingly enough, it was Ichigo. "Makoto, Makoto. Wake up! You're not dead!" A groan and two grunts later, Makoto rose, with the help of Ichigo. "Dammit, didn't I tell you to be careful?"

Makoto glared at him. "No, you didn't. You said good luck, and told me to keep my gloves on. Which I've done, by the way. Not that it's done me any good."

"We better go," he said, ignoring Makoto's comments. "Rukia needs us."

"You mean you," Makoto corrected, giving him a dubious look.

"No, I mean us."

###

The Hollow was chasing Rukia. Her head was bleeding profusely, and the crimson liquid spilled down her right arm. Without hesitation, Ichigo vaulted himself at the Hollow, and ended up landed on it's head. Rukia looked plenty relieved, and Makoto couldn't help the smile that crawled onto her face as Ichigo introduced himself as the presently acting Shinigami.

"The acting Shinigami, you say?" said the Hollow as Ichigo jumped off it's head. "Your soul smells even tastier. When you three split up earlier...I should have targeted you from the beginning!" Rukia shoved Ichigo in the chest, and his body fell back, while his soul, in the kimono, stayed standing. Makoto rushed forward to prevent his body from crashing to the ground. That would be a painful reminder later.

One of the creatures exploded nearby Makoto, and Ichigo lifted her, and his unconscious body, out of the way. "You're slow," he commented to the Hollow. Slashing at the monster, Ichigo frowned. Makoto dragged Ichigo's body out of the way, and Rukia took her place behind the Shinigami.

The Hollow's chuckle resounded through Makoto's bones, and she shivered. "So the Shinigami's true form...has revealed itself!"

"Be careful!" called Makoto from the side of the street. Keeping Ichigo's body out of the way of danger was a top priority. "The leeches the small things spit out are bombs!" He nodded, and reprimanded the Hollow for making Karin cry, taking hostages, and attacking Rukia. In that time, Rukia took cover farther down the street with Makoto, behind a telephone pole.

There were footsteps, and they were growing closer. Makoto spun around to see Chad rushing toward them, carrying the bird cage. "Ichigo?!" he asked, eyeing the body that Makoto was grasping. She was crouched low to the ground, and had taken hold of his torso. "What's happened to Ichigo?!"

"You've arrived just in time," said Rukia, and Makoto glanced up at her. "Take the parakeet and this guy and hide them in a safe place."

"Transfer student... This... What in the world is... Ichigo..." Chad stammered, seemingly unable to form a proper question.

"Don't worry," she supplied. "Right now, Ichigo is in the middle of a battle!" He certainly was. Makoto looked back to where he was fighting, which, she reminded herself, Chad couldn't see. Ichigo was slicing up the little creatures that came from the Hollow, and their leeches never hit him.

"It's okay," Makoto said, hoisting up Ichigo. "I can take him." Rukia looked at her doubtfully, and Chad raised an eyebrow. "No, really. I'm no good in fighting anyway, remember? Might as well do something to help." Rukia's expression told Makoto that maybe she wanted to say something, to maybe amend what she had said earlier out of haste, but Makoto just smiled. "It's okay," she repeated.

And she left. It was hard work, dragging Ichigo's limp body down the street. "You're probably a lot more trouble than you're worth," Makoto muttered to his body, who knows why. No one was around, and Ichigo certainly couldn't hear her. "You know, it's weird. I've never spoken more than a few words to you, but I can always find you. If you're in the clinic? I know exactly where you are. Whether you're in the water closet, or at home, asleep, I know. That sounds so creepy, but it's true. I don't know why, but for some reason," she said, slumping against a wall, and propping Ichigo's body beside her. "I'm connected to you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

**###**

**A/N: So, yes, there are _so _many people following Perception, I do believe some reviews are to come? I certainly hope so ;) Next time then!**


End file.
